It's an old elevator
by JustAWriterWannaBe
Summary: The old elevator finally fails and Lanie gets injured.
1. Chapter 1 - Javi's lost again

_**Author's Notes:**_  
Thank you for reading my story, I hope you enjoy it.  
It takes place somewhere in the fourth or fifth season timeframe.  
No particular reference points needed.  
No spoilers.  
This story is a reposting of one I did on another Castle FanFic site.  
By all means, please leave me feedback/reviews on this or any of the other stories I've posted here.  
This is all a first for me and I'd like to know what's good and what needs improvement. (And what smells badly.)

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_**Story Notes:**_  
It's a bit of a one-shot but I did it across three chapters. Mostly fluffy, a bit of suspense.

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_**Disclaimer:**_  
All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

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"Doctor Parish! What are you doing up here and, **WOW**, dressed to kill?" Castle asked.

"Well I'm taking my favorite Detective out to a little dinner and maybe a show." The pleasure in her voice wasn't even slightly masked.

"Espo just left to see you." Adds Beckett.

"I don't know what I'm going to do with that boy. I need to put a bell around his neck I guess." Mused Dr Parish

"You can probably catch him if you go downstairs now. By the way, a ring through his nose might be easier than the bell." Castle suggests.

Parish sighs and heads for the elevator dialing her phone. "Javi, you need a leash. Where are you? ... Stay there. I'll be right down." She presses the elevator 'down' button. "Yes, I came upstairs to meet you. What? Is there a reason you don't want my face shown up here with the other detectives? Ok, so don't get so defensive about it." The doors open and she goes into the elevator and presses the down button. "Ok, I'm on my way, 'bye." She hangs up her phone as the doors close.

"I don't think I'd like to be him when she gets there, this is going to get him another black mark in the 'owe me' column." Castle mumbles.

"Yea, maybe you and him should get plastic chips made to keep track of these demerits you guys owe us." Suggests Beckett, smiling wide but not looking at Castle.

"Yea, that's what I want, evidence and a paper trail, good idea. You ready to leave?"

"Sure, let me get my coat."

As they head for the elevator, Beckett's phone rings. "Hey Espo, did Lanie give you permission to call?" Pauses and looks at Castle with a worried look. "No, she went down a couple of minutes ago. Try her phone again. Ok, call me back either way." She hangs up and says to Castle as they arrive at the elevator doors "Lanie hasn't met Javi yet."

"Did she maybe .." Beckett's hand on his arm stopped him from saying any more.

"Listen, do you hear music from the elevator?" Says Beckett leaning down to listen to the crack between the doors. "That's Espo's ringtone on Lanie's phone! I don't hear the elevator moving. Let's see if we can pull these doors open a bit." Beckett and Castle begin to struggle to pry the doors open, just as the doors crack open, large chunks of metal whiz past the door crashing onto the elevator cab which is stuck between floors.

Standing up, Beckett yells to the room of detectives "We have an emergency, the elevator is stuck and we need a fire rescue team here ASAP!" Turning back to the elevator shaft "Doctor Parrish! Do you hear me? Respond please!" Everyone stood listening to nothing but silence and the creaking of the elevator cab as it sounds like it isn't going to last long.

Grabbing her phone, she calls Esposito "Javi, get your ass up here, we have an emergency!" She quickly hangs up without even waiting for an answer.

"We need to jam these doors open." Beckett says as Castle takes off running to grab a coat rack and helps jam it into the door opening.

Only slightly winded after running the stairs all the way up from the first floor, Esposito flings open the fire door and rushes to their side. "What's going on? What's the emergency."

"Lanie's in the elevator and it looks like it's collapsed!" Beckett says, jumping at Javi and grabbing him by the shoulders as he tries to jump into the elevator shaft after her. "No wait, we have teams coming, we need to use our heads."

"**Lanie! Lanie! Are you alright?!**" Screamed Esposito past Beckett into the open shaft.

"She's not responding to her phone or our calls. It's too far to jump down there, do you have any of your climbing gear here?" Implored Beckett

"Yea, there's a bundle of rope in the locker room, I'll be right back." As the cool and controlled detective melts away and the concerned lover and soldier takes over, he runs at break-neck speed to the locker room and before the door can even swing closed after him, he is running back with a loop of rope over his shoulder. He quickly ties it to a pole in the room and heads for the shaft already starting to wrap it around his waist to repel down the shaft. "**Someone give me a flashlight!**" He yells as he begins to put his weight onto the rope, testing his knot and beginning to back down the shaft, Beckett puts a small flashlight in his teeth so he can see where he's going.

"Do we have an ETA on a rescue team!?" Castle yells into the room.

"About three minutes!" Comes the answer from an unseen person.

"Javi, what do you see down there?" Becket calls down the shaft.

Echoing from the shaft "There's a lot of cables and wires here and some beams. It looks like the entire support collapsed onto the car! I'm unable to see the emergency hatch yet, I have to try and clear some of the debris!"

"Can you tell if the brakes are holding or not?" Beckett yells down to him.

"Can't tell yet, I think I hear creaking! Hey! I can hear some moaning, it must be Lanie! **LANIE! LANIE! ANSWER ME! RESPOND ANY WAY YOU CAN!" **Pauses "I can hear a tapping, she must be responding! I'm trying to move this debris to get to the emergency door!"

"Javi, hang on, the emergency teams are just arriving here." Beckett turns to the F.D.N.Y. team assembling next to her and fills them in on the situation. "We have one officer who has repelled down there, we think we have one female in the elevator who isn't responding to phone calls but may be responding by tapping on the floor. She's our M.E. and his girlfriend, he said there's cables and support materials on the cab and he can't get to the emergency door. There's also creaking that might be the brakes."

Quickly turning to his team, the captain barks orders to his people and they jump into action. "Get that man back up here so we can get one of our own down there! I want chains and pulleys on that cab to secure it! Get the EMTs up here with a stretcher pronto! We need ropes and grapples to clear that debris!" Turning to the police members "Folks, let us take it from here please, give us room to work, we'll get her out of there ASAP, I think you might need to tend to your detective when we pull him back up, he's going to need friends to keep him from getting into our way."

"10-4" Responds Beckett, using the old radio sign for clear acknowledgement of the orders, as she stretches out her arms and begins to coral her co-workers out of the way. Turning back towards the open shaft she yells" Javi, you need to come up, the professionals are here."

"Is Captain Gates still here? She should get in touch with the building's management and probably other city groups." Castle suggested.

Beckett looked at him, surprised at how logical he sounded. Grabbing her phone and dialing "Captain Gates, Detective Beckett, we've had an incident at the precinct, the elevator's collapsed and Doctor Parrish might be in it. We've got the fire department here beginning the rescue now. ... Okay, will do, will keep you apprised until you arrive." Hanging up the phone she turns to Castle "If you keep making sense, we're going to start to worry about you."

"Yea, I'll do that later, if you don't mind." Quips Castle, not looking away from the rescue teams.

"Javi, come over here!" Called Beckett as she trots over to where Esposito is now standing to drag him out of the way to where the others are waiting. "They know what they're doing, she'll be fine, she's in good hands. She needs you to not get in the way."

Beckett's phone rings. "Beckett" ... "Yes Sir, he's right here," as she pulls her phone from her ear, Javi begins to reach for it and she avoids his grasp and says "Captain Gates wants to talk to Castle."

"Me? Alright." Taking the phone "Yes Captain Gates." Long pause. "Right, will do it now." Hands Beckett back her phone. Pulls out his phone and dials a number "Hi Mayor, it's Richard Castle, I'm sorry to call you like this, it's not a pleasure call, Captain Gates here at the 12th precinct is having problems, probably because of the hour and the long weekend, reaching the people she needs to deal with for an emergency here." ... "Yea, we've had an elevator collapse and we believe we've got one injured party so far. No, the M.E., Doctor Parrish. Captain Gates asked me to reach out to you to bypass the red-tape she's hitting. Right, do you want me to have her call this number? Okay, I'll call her now. No, I don't think your presence will add anything to the situation at the moment but I really would prefer to defer to Captain Gates' judgment on that. Right. Calling her now. Thank you."

Castle hangs up the phone and dials again.

"Captain Gates, I talked to the mayor, he wants you to call him on his private line. Yes, his number is 212-555-2677, he's expecting your call now." He hangs up his phone and turns to his friends. "Well, the big-wigs are in motion. Javi, Lanie's not going to have to worry about being forgotten by the system." He smiles hoping the news will help Javi relax a bit.

"Well Castle, for once maybe it was good to have you around." Quipped Beckett with no reaction from Castle.

From inside the shaft "We are through the access hatch, we have one female down. She's moving. EMTs are going in for triage. Stand by."

With those words, everyone held their collective breath for what seemed to be an eternity.

Again, the voice from the shaft says "She's got a head injury, possibly a broken jaw. We need a collar and stretcher down here ASAP. She's going to be okay once we get her out. There seems to be no internal injuries. She's giving us a message. She's written the letters J.E.O.K! Does anyone know what it means?"

Beckett calls out "We do, she's letting us know she's ok!"

Castle grabs Javi as he begins to fall to his knees and the tears begin to come. "It's okay bro, let's go sit over here, as soon as she comes out we'll make sure you're with her."

Beckett pulls out her phone and initiates another call. "Captain Gates, they've reached Doctor Parish, it seems like she's going to be okay. Possibly a broken jaw." ... "Roger, got it. We're going to go to the hospital with Esposito and Parish, we'll update you from there. Thank you very much. Really? Alright, I'll do it but I won't enjoy it. Right. Thanks." She hangs up the phone with a look on her face like she's just tasted sour milk. "Oh this really isn't going to be a pleasant experience."

"What's up?" Asks Javi collecting himself.

Beckett twists her face and says "Captain Gates wants me to thank the team for a job well done and, ... she found this distasteful and I hate to say this too, ... she said to tell Castle that he too did a good job and was a valuable asset and contributor."

"Wow!" Grins Castle "She might..."

"No. She wanted me to make sure you knew. No, she's not starting to like you." Interrupted Beckett smiling at him.

"She's coming out!" Came a call from the shaft.

Javi runs over to Parish as her stretcher is leveled out onto the floor. "Lanie, look at me, tell me you're ok!" Parish squeezes his hand digging her nails in so he knows she's really ok.

"Javi, give them some room. We need to start down the stairs so we can be ready when she comes down." Beckett pulls him back by the shoulders and leads him to the stairs and waves to her co-workers to join them heading down.


	2. Chapter 2 - At the emergency room

As the emergency teams arrive on the first floor with Lanie on a stretcher, Javi runs over from the stairway to join her in the ambulance.

"Well Castle, this is one for your books." Sighs Beckett.

"Y'know Kate, this one I think might be better for a different publication. I may write an editorial for the paper, these people should be praised sooner rather than later for their work."

"If you want my opinion, it's a great idea but get Gates to clear the finished document before you submit it."

"You got it partner. Want to get going to the hospital?" Smiled Castle with that sparkle in his eyes.

"Yea. Let's go."

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Later, at the hospital... Javi is sitting on a chair in the emergency room waiting area.

"Javi, got an update?" They ask as they approach him.

"Yeah. She was heading down to meet me when the elevator jerked and dropped. It knocked her off her feet and she hit her cheek against the handrail in the elevator breaking her jaw. They said it is a clean fracture and she'll heal quickly but she's going to have to have her jaw wired shut for a little while. Of course, **that **might kill her but she's going to be okay otherwise. They are going to keep her overnight to make sure everything's fine. They said she's going to have some soreness and bruising but it will all heal. She's going to be out of work for a little while of course."

"Thank god." Says Beckett as she sits down, finally willing to relax. "Javi, do you want me to call Ryan?"

"No thanks, I'll do it, I need to go out and get some fresh air." Javi gets up, pulls out his phone and heads for the outside door "Yo Ryan, yeah, I just wanted to let you know what's going on..." As he goes outside the conversation fades.

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"Well Doctor Parish, do you think you've made enough of a spectacle of yourself." Asked Castle now at her bedside.

She gives him one of those looks that could melt steel.

"Yikes Castle, that look tells me you should x-ray any packages you get from her." Laughs Ryan

"Lanie, here's a computer pad. You can type messages to us instead of trying to talk." Offers Beckett

Lanie types "Thanks Hon, thanks for everything." And shows it to Beckett

Types more "Thank you to everyone for everything." And shows it to everyone, one at a time.

"Lanie, you really missed a spectacular show. When Javi found out you were down there, you would not believe the response that kicked in. It was impressive to say the least. He was like a man possessed." Castle told Lanie "He was ready to jump in to the shaft after you, we had physically restrain him to stop him."

Rolling her eyes, she types onto the screen. "That's my hero. He might think it makes up for breaking this date but now he owes me two."

"We're going to let you get some rest now. If you need anything at all, you can text us from the pad or..." Started Beckett

"I'll be here, I'm not leaving." Interrupted Esposito as he took her hand. "I'm not leaving you alone again for a while" Trying to control the tightness in his throat, he cleared his throat and quietly said "not with all these handsome doctors around and with you wearing that skimpy hospital gown." Tears begins to show in his eyes as he tries to hide it.

"Okay gang, let's get out of here and let the lady rest. Javi, if you want **anything**..." Beckett says as she grabs Castle and Ryan by the arms and begins to drag them to the door."please call any of us at any time. We'll be back tomorrow morning to check on you."

Once outside the door, Beckett pulls out her phone and dials it. "Captain Gates. Kate Beckett. Yes, we're at the hospital with Esposito and Parish. She's going to be fine. She got a fractured jaw. That's the worst of it. Esposito is staying with her all night, we're all leaving now. Do you need us to return for anything?" Listens for a bit of time. "That's good then, we'll all see you tomorrow morning. Have a good night." _She hangs up her phone and turns to her friends. _"Gates said that the elevator supports collapsed due to rot from a leak in the roof. She said that the initial inspection of the accident shows that only one of the four emergency brakes was holding. If there was more weight in that car, it would have been a lot worse. Lanie and Espo got very lucky. Ok you guys, crisis averted, last one to the 'Old Haunt' buys the first round!"


	3. Chapter 3 - The next day

Castle and Beckett makes the hospital their first stop the next morning. Peeking into the room to make sure they weren't disturbing them, Beckett notices that Javi is sitting next to Lanie still holding her hand but with his head down resting. Lanie sees her and motions her in. Javi sits up at the sound of them entering.

She starts to type right away "Can you people do something about this guy? He needs to go home and get some rest. I've promised him that as long as he buys me nice jewelry, I'm not going to be wandering."

"Lanie, I saw him responding to your being in danger. Sorry, I'm not going to try and pry him away from your side." said Castle raising his hands in mock surrender.

Beckett brightly chimed in"Sorry Doctor, he's like a stray puppy, once you feed him, you'll never get rid of him."

Parish tries to resist the urge to smile and almost succeeds.

"Javi, do you need anything?" Castle asks.

"No, thanks. I'm really fine, they've taken great care of her and me."

"Do you want to go get some breakfast? We'll stay with her if you want." Castle adds.

"That'd be great, I have to find an ATM quickly and get some coffee."

Castle heads towards the door with Javi and reaches into his pocket, pulls out his money clip and peels off a few bills. "Javi, here, take this, you can settle up with me later when she gets out and life returns to normal."

"No dude, I'm not asking for a hand-out." He says with a bit of machismo in his voice.

"You didn't ask for one and I'm not offering one. You two are my dear friends, I don't want to have you worrying about having cash in your pocket while she's laid up like this. I know you're good for it and it saves you having to mess around with ATMs right now. This isn't for you, it's for those two ladies over there, please take it just as a favor to us ok?"

With great trepidation, Javi takes the cash and shakes Castle's hand and fights to keep his voice from cracking. "Only because **she's** here." He says nodding his head towards Lanie.

"Agreed" says Castle "Now go get some coffee and breakfast. The gift store will have some things you might need too." With that Castle mouths the word "Flowers" to Espo with a smile. "We'll keep her company while you're gone, don't hurry, we want to talk about you behind your back. We have to tell her about how her own 'Captain America' tried to save her single-handedly."

With one more look and wink at Lanie, Javi exits the room.

Beckett sits with Lanie, holding her hand and smiles saying "Well Lanie, this is a fine kettle of fish you've gotten yourself into. I'll give you only the highlights of, as Castle called him, Captain America's response to your accident. He was downstairs as you already know. When I called him and told him to come up because of an emergency, he **ran** up the stairs. When we told him you were down the shaft, we had to hold him back, he charged to dive in after you. He ran and got some rope, tied it to something and began to repel down the shaft to you. It was an impressive sight to see. The fire department had us hang onto him when they finally got him back up and they were trying to reach you. When they had you out and were going down the stairs, he ran the stairs again, two at a time to wait for you downstairs. The guy was down right **possessed **in the way he responded."

Lanie was crying of course by now and typed out "That's my man! Looks we both did pretty well eh?" Beckett gives her a bit of a dirty look and a sly smile.

Castle standing in the background asks"Do you know when they're going to spring you from this joint?"

Lanie types "I think it will be this afternoon, they only have to run one more blood test and then start the massive mound of paperwork to free me. I can't go back to work for a while, I'll have to get checked out by a couple of doctors to be able to return to my post as M.E. I guess I'm going to lead the life of leisure until then and catch up on my Temptation Lane episodes."

Castle's phone rings "Castle." Looks surprised "Ryan, why are you calling me?" Smiles "Yeah, okay. I'll give her the message, text her the address. Talk to you shortly." Hangs up his phone and goes to Beckett's side. "There's a problem at a murder scene and Gates wants you to handle it personally. I'll stay with Lanie until Espo gets back here. Ryan called me to keep from disturbing Lanie."

Beckett gives Lanie's hand a squeeze and stands up. "I'll see you later on." With that she turns to Castle "You'll let me know what's going on?"

"Absolutly. As soon as Esposito gets back and I can leave, I'll call you and meet you there."

"Alright, see you then." She gives Castle a look a little longer than she'd intended, marveling at his transformation from the nine-year old to a responsible adult.

"I also have to give him the bad news." He smiles.

"That's fine but break it to him gently please." Beckett laughs.

"I will."

Lanie waves the pad at Castle "What news?"

Laughing he says "That even with your jaw wired, he's not going to get the last word in."

She leans back smiling as Beckett leaves and the door closes behind her.

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**# # # The End # # #**


End file.
